On Thin Ice: Breakdowns, Whiteouts and Survival on the World's Deadliest Roads. Hugh Rowland with Michael Lent - Softcover

Hugh Rowland

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1409120740 ISBN 13: 9781409120742

Publisher: Orion, 2011

Synopsis

Every year a fleet of men travel to the Arctic Circle, a region heavily endowed with natural resources. Locating the abundance of natural gas, conflict-free diamonds and gold is relatively easy - but extracting and transporting these goods is another matter entirely. The truckers picked to deliver these precious commodities spend two months traveling hundreds of miles on a naturally formed road of ice. It is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. For more than 20 years, Hugh Rowland has survived the ice roads like no other. Known by the ice road trucking community as 'The Polar Bear' - a reference to his legendary stamina, strong personality, bearish attitude and prowess on the ice - Rowland has performed amazing feats and survived spectacular wrecks to become the undisputed king of the ice road truckers. Each year when the temperature plummets to -70degreeC, Rowland leaves his family, home and successful excavation business north of Vancouver, Canada, to drive 1900 miles to Yellowknife, where he throttles up for another ice road season. ON THIN ICE traces the history of ice road trucking, the preparation for the trek and follows Rowland through his nine week journey across the infamous Ice Road. From the first snowstorm to the final thaw, this adrenalin-filled book follows his journey to the edge of endurance and back. It's an extraordinary look at an extreme life.

About this title

About the Author:

Hugh Rowland is a trucker with over 30 years experience. He runs a successful excavation business in British Columbia. He has been married for 25 years to his childhood sweetheart Dianne and has three daughters and two grand children.

From Booklist:

Fans of the History reality television series Ice Road Truckers will be thrilled with this inside look at the job by Rowland, a regular participant. He opens hard and fast by imagining a colleague’s death after breaking through the ice and then continues with yet more dangerous moments from his decades on the job, such as when he was run off the road or chased by wolves. Rowland mixes a fair amount of Yellowknife color and history with a recounting of his own past, and fans will enjoy his personal reflections on school (dropout), prison (for a barroom brawl), and his long, successful marriage to the understanding Dianne (fan of Stephen King and Dean Koontz). Rowland deviates from the expected by discussing the impact of cameras on the job, making sure to point out that he finds their presence humorous and easy to ignore. The point, of course, is that it is all real, all unscripted, and nobody can tell him what to do, which is exactly what his millions of admirers want to hear. --Colleen Mondor

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1409120740
• ISBN 13: 9781409120742
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272